


The Body of You

by A_Death_and_A_Maiden



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Bodyguard Otabek Altin, Clueless Otabek Altin, Crime Scenes, Drugs, Fluff and Smut, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lime, M/M, Minor Character Death, Molestation, No Sex, Out of Character, Prostitution, Russian Mafia, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:14:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28339812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Death_and_A_Maiden/pseuds/A_Death_and_A_Maiden
Summary: (Please don't feel intimidated by the tags. Most stuff is just mentioned in a sentence or two, but I feel I have to put those tags in.)“Do you think everything will be all right?”- asks Victor. Yuuri puts a hand gently on Victor’s shoulder and looks at him with warm eyes, certainly not a professional behaviour of a personal assistant.“Otabek Altin is known for his reputation not for nothing, Vitya.” No, definitely not behaviour of a personal assistant.Victor Nikiforov nods.“He’s out of jail this morning, so he probably is out of touch with the latest developments in the Bratva. I don’t like having to withhold the information from him but his long absence in the game is precisely why I hired him.”“He knows as much as he needs to do his job. And he will do it or die trying.”Victor just hopes dying is nowhere near Otabek Altin right now.
Relationships: Jean-Jacques Leroy/Yuri Plisetsky, Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter One

“Mr. Altin? Pakhan will see you now.”

A voice jerks Otabek from his daydream. He tries to hide his embarrassment as he follows Victor Nikiforov’s personal assistant to Pakhan’s office in Victor’s flamboyant mansion in the outskirts of St. Petersburg. He barks at his own stupidity and tells himself to get a better grip of reality. He is here to be considered for a job of a bodyguard and he has just let someone approach himself unnoticed. That tall, slender, dark-haired someone with square glasses that cover the better part of his face doesn’t look like a threat but with Victor Nikiforov carefulness is never extra. A legend says that grass stops growing where the fearsome Pakhan casts his shadow. Another legend says that Victor Nikiforov doesn't cast a shadow because his shadow lost its shit and ran away.

Shadows. You can leave the valley, but you can never escape its shadow. 

They enter Victor’s office. It’s probably the biggest room in the house. At first glance it looks like a regular CEO office with several TV screens with worldwide news on, many open laptops, a printer, a coffeemaker, several phone lines and a bar. Victor greets them at the bar with a drink in hand. Otabek stands before him in attention, Victor’s assistant (and a rumored bed partner but this is speculations and the last known person to speculate about this particular matter had his tongue cut out) takes place at Pakhan’s side, attentive and ready for instructions. Yuuri Katsuki looks like not much of anything but his determination to please can be read in every muscle of his face. 

“Mr. Altin.”  
“Sir.”  
“Yakov Feltsman recommended you and I have no reasons not to trust him.”  
“Thank you, sir.”  
“I have a job offer for you. I need you to go to Geneva to pick up my nephew Yuri from a boarding school and to escort him safely to St. Petersburg. Arrangements have been made, they are expecting you. Have you been told the payment for this job?”  
“Yes, sir. It’s within my usual rates.”  
“I’ll add a bonus upon the successful completion of this job. Just one more thing. Due to certain circumstances, you will have to travel as a private person. Will that be of any trouble?”  
“Not at all, sir.”  
“Do you want to take this job?”  
“I’ll take this job,”- agrees Otabek. He is in no position to refuse any money coming his way, especially now, but he strongly feels this is something Victor doesn’t need to know.  
“Katsuki, can you tell Mr.Altin more details of his assignment?”

“Yes, Pakhan,”- Victor’s personal assistant fixes his glasses to have a better grip of his nose,- “you will board a regular flight from St. Petersburg to Geneva, it will take three hours and a half, then you will take a mode of transportation you find to be suitable from the airport to Christophe Giacometti private boarding school for elite students, there you will pick up Yuri Plisetsky and escort him to the earliest flight you can catch to St. Petersburg, our people will meet you at the airport in Russia and then your job is done. Any questions?”  
“Time of departure?”  
“2.45 PM today, in three hours. You have brought a travel kit with you, I suppose?”  
“Yes, I have,”- Otabek would hardly call his humble possessions that he was able to take with him from the prison this morning ‘a travel kit’ but that will have to do for now. He has his passport with him and he knows his work expenses will be paid by Victor in advance. He can always buy clean socks at the airport duty free. -”And the airline?”  
“Aeroflot,”- answers Katsuki, Victor makes a face as if his tooth channel is decaying and Otabek suppresses a deep sight to stay within the boundaries of politeness and professional work ethics but he can bet there’s a shadow of compassion passing through the faces of Victor and Katsuki. 

“We have prepared a room for you. You can take a shower, there’s a clean set of clothes and a hot meal for you ready. When it’s time, my driver will take you to the airport. That’s all.”  
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” 

Victor’s shoulders visibly relax when the doors shut behind Otabek and a suppressed deep sigh escapes his lips. Victor Nikiforov is the head of probably the largest mafia syndicate that has ever reigned in Russia. His word alone can make the exchange rate of the rubble go up or down. He has politicians on a payroll up to the administration of President. But he is one lousy uncle who couldn’t deal with the painful loss of his elder brother Nikolai and the best thing he could do for the fifteen-year-old orphan nephew of his was to chuck the boy to a private elite boarding school in Switzerland. The school, of course, has ties with the Bratva, so he could be sure Yuri would be looked after. Three years seemed to have passed like three days but the pain of the loss is still there. Victor made a decision long time ago to bring Yuri back to Russia when the boy turns eighteen. There is some paperwork to be done as Yuri will be stepping into the inheritance of his father and Victor would no longer be the legal guardian. Victor isn’t sure if Yuri would want to study for his higher education in Russia or if he wants to study at all but by the way things are going Yuri Plisetsky is ‘Pakhan apparent _vseja Rusii_ ’. But what if Yuri would want to stay out of it? The Bratva is never without a leader, if one head rolled another would soon grow, but not without civil war within the organization itself. Victor feels pangs of guilty conscience because as an uncle he totally, legitimately and royally sucked. He never once went to see Yuri during those three years of exile although he has all the records of Yuri’s academic achievement sent to him monthly by Yuri’s teachers in Switzerland, he knows about the time Yuri broke his leg in a skiing accident, he knows when Yuri was first caught smoking and he even knows about a small tattoo Yuri has on his inner thigh (that one is permanent, otherwise Victor would have the tattoo artists fingers removed). Victor knows his nephew can speak three foreign languages fluently but he has no idea what kind of ice-cream Yuri likes or if he likes ice-cream at all. His strategy to deal with grief has been shoddy, to say it politely. 

“Do you think everything will be all right?”- asks Victor. Yuuri puts a hand gently on Victor’s shoulder and looks at him with warm eyes, certainly not a professional behaviour of a personal assistant.  
“Otabek Altin is known for his reputation not for nothing, Vitya.” No, definitely not behaviour of a personal assistant.  
Victor Nikiforov nods.  
“He’s out of jail this morning, so he probably is out of touch with the latest developments in the Bratva. I don’t like having to withhold the information from him but his long absence in the game is precisely why I hired him.”  
“He knows as much as he needs to do his job. And he will do it or die trying.”

Victor just hopes dying is nowhere near Otabek Altin right now.

Otabek is escorted to a room where he can take a shower and change his clothes. A meal is laid for him in heat-containing containers, so he takes his time with the shower. It’s so relaxing not having to worry about his back like in the prison showers that Otabek loses all sense of time and when he finally gets out of the shower, he has to rush the food down his throat. The change of clothes he gets is nothing to write home about: a clean set of underwear, socks, dark blue jeans, a set of T-shirts to choose from and a V-neck sweater in addition to a leather jacket, his outfit is finished with a pair of combat boots of his own. The food is absolutely delicious compared to the prison grub and Otabek is secretly grateful to the person who has prepared everything because he finds some energy bars and snacks for the trip. He packs an overnight backpack with some extra clothes and items of personal hygiene because he might end up stuck in an airport on the return trip as the departure depends on the time he and Yuri Plisetsky are gonna make it to the airport. He knows firearms are off-limits due to airport security and he has to leave his knives behind, too, but he has a new phone with mobile payments. He packs his ammunition away carefully like a man who intends to come back for it. A knock on the door tells him it’s time to go and when he leaves Victor’s mansion all Otabek Altin has for a weapon on this job is his own two hands.

Wouldn’t be the first time, though. 

The Aeroflot flight surprisingly ends up being half-decent. They land on time and Otabek wastes no time in getting a taxi to the center of Geneva. He gives the driver an address of a large shopping mall, then spends half an hour milling around and buying things he doesn’t need just to throw off any tail he may have and then walks a considerable distance to the Christophe Giacometti private boarding school for elite students. He is expected there. A member of staff escorts him into what seems to be a waiting room and soon Christophe Giacometti himself greets Otabek.

“Mr. Altin, a pleasure,”- a green eyed dark blonde gives a warm handshake and he has a kind smile. Otabek remembers having heard that Christphe Giacometti may or may not be in charge of casino dealings in the area related to the Bratva but now is not the time ask.  
“Mr. Giacometti, a pleasure.”  
“Please call me Chris. We are very unofficial here just like one big family.” That cliche, actually, makes sense because sons of illustrious and wealthy people are sent to this school to obtain education and they see their teachers in a year more often than their parents in a lifetime, Yuri Plisetsky being a prime example of that. -”I’ll take you to meet Yuri and then you are good to go.”

They climb several flights of stairs and walk along a long corridor with many doors on both sides which Otabek correctly presumes to be the dormitory wing and then Chris knocks on one of the doors. There’s a table with the name “Plisetsky” on the door. Otabek tsks his tongue in disapproval-if an assassin manages to get in, he will have no problem finding his target, they might as well tie the poor boy up and put a target sign on his forehead. A voice inside tells them to come in, Chris opens the door, motions for Otabek to come in and then closes the door after him. Otabek hears Chris walk away quickly- his job with Yuri Plisetsky is done.

Nothing could have prepared Otabek for what he sees. Yuri Plisetsky is absolutely the most gorgeous young man Otabek has ever seen. Yuri is said to be turning eighteen this month but he doesn’t look a day older fifteen. He has big blue-green eyes, his long blond hair is arranged nicely in a ponytail, he’s got pink plush kissable lips, his complexion is porcelain white and he is also tall, almost as tall as Otabek, lean with unbelievably long legs and he’s definitely got ballerina hands, no extra body fat but rather soft muscles where it counts. The Elf Prince Yuri Plisetsky is wearing a tight black crop top, a pair of skinny black jeans and a pair of tiger print sneakers. There’s a dark blue hoodie and an over-sized black leather jacket on the bed next to a packed roller suitcase (red giraffe print, Otabek feels his eyes go sore) and an airport carry-on with what Otabek correctly assumes to be the most valuable possessions. There’s an empty cat carrier on the bed too and for a moment Otabek mentally falls back in the conversation with Victor but for the life of him he cannot remember Pakhan saying anything about pet travelling arrangements. If the bloody animal doesn’t have a vaccine passport, the trip has already fallen apart. 

“Yuri Plisetsky, I presume?”- says Otabek, extending his hand, -”Otabek Altin, I will be escorting you home.”  
“Oh, yes, Katsuki told me,”- Yuri extends his most delicate delicate hand and Otabek shakes it reverently and extremely gently from the fear to break it. So, Victor didn’t even tell Yuri about the arrangements, the uncle obviously decided to employ all avoidance strategies known to man. But that isn’t Otabek’s responsibility.  
“Cat?”- he nods toward an empty carrier. -”I wasn’t told about a cat.”  
“Oh, no, don’t worry. Potya is already on her way home. She got airlifted.”  
Otabek just wonders. Victor Nikiforov could airlift a flipping cat but not his own nephew? Otabek immediately smells that something is rotten in the kingdom of Denmark. This won’t be the first time his employer decided to stretch the truth to cover a lie but this cannot be dealt with from a college in Geneva. Otabek Altin has never walked out of a job regardless what assholes hired him. He worked hard for his reputation and now his reputation works for him. For a brief moment Otabek feels that Yuri is actually scared that Otabek Altin may actually walk out of the job. 

As things later turn out, maybe he should have. Maybe Otabek Altin should have walked out of the job that time. But he didn’t. 

“What about my gun? Can I take it?”- suddenly asks Yuri.  
“You have a _gun_?”  
Yuri nods and pulls out a drawer of a bedside table. Sure thing, there’s a small revolver in the drawer.  
“Do you know how to use it?”  
“Yes, I do. JJ taught me. Just please don’t tell my uncle.”  
“JJ?”  
“Jean-Jeaques Leroy.”  
“From the North America Cartel? He taught you how to use a gun?”  
“Yeah. We shortly dated,”- a tint of pink colours Yuri’s cheeks, -”just please don’t tell my uncle. He still dreams of taking me to the altar as a virgin.”  
Somehow Otabek thinks that this is not the last thing is is ‘pleased’ not to tell Victor but he cannot help but grunt a laugh. Otabek cannot explain why but he suddenly feels a bout of jealousy that someone else but he stuck his tongue into that wonderful mouth of Yuri’s. But this is not rational. This is uncalled for. He goes back to what’s familiar, to what’s professional.  
“Your name out there in the open,”- Otabek nods towards the doors of the room,-”they know it can be dangerous?”  
“Let them come,”- says Yuri and Otabek grunts again. This boy has eyes of a soldier. 

Suddenly, Otabek’s phone starts ringing. It’s a number he doesn’t know. He answers the phone anyway.  
“Otabek,”- Victor fires words rapidly, -”change of plan. Lay low. No credit cards or phone calls, get rid of your cards and phones so no-one can track you. Get Yuri home but from this moment you are on your own.” Victor hangs up before Otabek manages to react.  
“What happened?”- asks Yuri in a trembling voice and Otabek immediately feels the need to comfort this beautiful creature but it’s no time for tears and other bodily fluids, every second can be a matter of life and death.  
“A sudden change of plans, these things always happen, nothing to worry about,”- Otabek lies through his teeth in his calmest voice possible and just hopes Yuri bites the bait.  
“What are we gonna do now?”  
“Improvise,”- says Otabek and for the first time in a long time he honestly smiles.

End Part One


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Man,”- says Yuri when he finally catches his breath and wipes his tears away as his mocking blueness locks with Otabek’s darkness, -”you are funny, you know.”
> 
> Funny?
> 
> “Like, did you really think I was gonna prostitute myself? What’s wrong with you?”
> 
> What’s wrong with you?
> 
> “All I was saying if we are pressed for cash, I can go to a bar, pick a rich old dude, pretend I want to blow him, slip a pill in his drink and clean his wallet.”  
> “What pill?”  
> “This one.”
> 
> True to his word, Yuri opens his hand and there’s a small red pill on his palm. Gobsmacked, Otabek picks it up between his index finger and the thumb and brings it up to his eyes to inspect closer. Then he looks at Yuri with a definite furrow of his dark bushy brows. Yuri’s blond brows, by the way, are delicately formed and plucked.  
> “What kind of college was that exactly?”

“Let’s steal a car and drive all the way to Russia,”- suggests Yuri. -”It’s gonna be a road trip. Like Bonnie and Clyde, you know, but Yuri and Otabek this time.”

They are walking the streets of Geneva towards a railway station that serves international connections with only their backpacks to keep their travel light and more mobile. Yuri frowned at Otabek’s instruction to leave the animal print suitcase behind but then he understood that rolling the precious suitcase along narrow cobblestone streets while possibly trying to ditch a bullet unscratched in a crossfire is just not an option. A sudden change of plans means they no longer have their pre-arranged travel method and they have to, as Otabek has correctly noted, to improvise. So, instead of taking a direct flight to Russia Otabek decides in favour of the train. It’s much more difficult to derail a train or attempt to kill someone in a crowded place than to shoot down a plane. Otabek wonders if he’s not being too paranoid about that, who even shoots planes down these days, but then again Victor’s voice on the phone was cracking with tension. And as if Otabek doesn’t have his hands full now enters The Elf Prince who suddenly turns into this Dark Ever-evolving Monster and starts suggesting an alternative course of action. There’s a glint in Yuri’s eye and Otabek sighs. He hasn’t met Yuri Plisetsky before but the look in Yuri’s eye is familiar. This was exactly what landed Otabek in prison. Otabek knows he is a bodyguard and not a nanny but he cannot help but start being overly protective of his charge. 

“Yuri, we need to stay low key and committing a crime is not part of this description.”  
“I have a diplomatic passport. They can’t touch me.”  
“That’s a very bad reason to become a criminal.”  
Otabek knows that Yuri Plisetsky is very unlikely to ever land any prison time due to the cold hard fact that the better part of judges in Russia were on Pakhan’s payroll or they were his cousins twenty-five times removed and every other judge can be blackmailed or bullied but Otabek is just preaching the gospel.  
“Uncle has a _batiushka_ on a payroll. For the amount of money Victor donated to a local parish, we have absolution from sins until we croak of old age. We are actually in line for sainthood, if you didn’t know.”  
All Otabek can do is try to breathe and keep an eye on the surroundings. 

The first train out towards the direction they need leaves in twenty minutes and terminates in Prague fourteen hours later. Otabek goes into the ticket office to check if they still had seats available since this is literally last minute. There is a night train ready for departure and Otabek is lucky to score them a private double en-suite compartment even though that nearly clears his cash reserves that he has carefully set aside for this trip. They board the train five minutes to its departure time and the train pulls out from Geneva Central the moment Otabek shuts their compartment door securely tight. Otabek directs Yuri to the upper bunk bed and nestles himself on the lower one, so he can have clear access of the door. They don’t have their phones on them anymore, so they cannot contact Victor to make further travel arrangements or ask for additional funds. Truly, they are on their own. The compartment, even though comfortable, is a small one and it gets even smaller when Yuri strips himself naked ready getting for the shower. For a moment Otabek doesn’t know where to place his hands, maybe he could use them to catch his popped eyes and squeeze them shut. Yuri catches on that and rolls his eyes up. 

Otabek Altin, aged twenty-one, cause of death: a naked Elf Prince at a hand’s reach. Sweet Moses smell the roses. 

“You know you can tell me when you need private time,”- Otabek finally finds time to set the ground rules, something he put off doing until this moment because he was focusing on just getting them out of Geneva safely.  
“Relax. You are my bodyguard. We are like practically married now. I’ll be spending more time with you than with my actual family.” Yuri waves his hand dismissively and leaves Otabek flushed and, to Otabek’s mortification, semi-hard. Otabek tries not to focus on the sound of the shower running and counts the remainder of his money.

325 Euros. That’s for two people to cover transport, accommodation and food for uncertain amount of time. That’s basically calling themselves poor in twenty-five different languages. Yuri comes out from the shower thankfully wearing something suitable for sleeping and climbs over to his bunk.  
“Yuri, do you have any cash on you?”  
“Yeah, some 115 Euros and some coins.”  
That makes a grand total of 440 Euros and Otabek spends some time doing mental mathematics and trying to make their budget stretch. He damns his own stupidity that he rushed them on board so quickly that they didn’t make time to get themselves new phones in a railway station kiosk. Now their next shopping for means of communication destination was Prague in the morning.  
“Yuri, do you think JJ would help us out a bit? You said you two dated, right? Do you know how to contact him?”  
“Sorry,”- blurts Yuri and Otabek hears his body shift on the upper bunk, -”I don’t remember his phone number and I don’t follow him on social media. I was looking at something else than his contacts when I was dating him, if you know what I’m saying.”  
One thing less to worry about but Otabek knows exactly what Yuri’s saying when he jerks himself off in the shower. Prison isn’t precisely a dating venue, so Otabek doesn’t blame himself. He’s just a simple man of flesh and bones, after all. 

Yuri Plisetsky is absolutely not a morning person and Otabek learns it the hard way. When Otabek manages to gently wake him up, Yuri cracks his celestial eyes open and looks at Otabek in utter confusion of who the other man is. Then he shuts his eyes and drifts back to sleep and Otabek has no option but to get physical and half push and half carry angry and biting Yuri into a shower. Otabek manages to avoid Yuri’s teeth, turns the cold water on and splashes it on Yuri’s face. That seems to do the trick and Otabek steps out of the shower leaving a growling body inside. Cold water has a wonderful effect on Yuri’s body because when he returns to the compartment his skin is most wonderful baby pink that makes the colour of his eyes stand out even more. 

They are about to be ready to leave their compartment to grab a bite of breakfast when Yuri brings up the question of money again. The boy is unexpectedly sharp, Otabek notices.  
“We are running out of money?”  
“Don’t worry, I’ll think of something,”- assures Otabek. He’s been there before, he can handle it.  
“Well, I can always be a prostitute.”  
Otabek freezes. He is not sure he has heard it correctly. Yuri goes on to explain what he meant because Otabek’s face is frozen in a very strange angle.  
“You know, like go to a bar and pick someone…”  
“You will do no such thing!”- Otabek roars and probably the entire car has heard him and maybe even the farmers whose cottages are scattered on the passing mountains in the countryside scenery that their train is passing by. For all Otabek cares, his roar may have sent several sheep in premature labour as well.  
“Hey, relax…” - Yuri cannot finish the sentence when Otabek grabs him on the shoulders and pulls close.  
“Yuri, listen to me carefully. I promised to bring you home safe and I will. You have to trust me. W-what are you laughing at?”

Yuri breaks away from Otabek’s grip, sits down on Otabek’s bunk and laughs his ass off, tears running down his cheeks. Otabek stands there gravely insulted because nobody has ever dared to laugh at him like that before. Or maybe it’s Yuri’s late reaction to shock?  
“Man,”- says Yuri when he finally catches his breath and wipes his tears away as his mocking blueness locks with Otabek’s darkness, -”you are funny, you know.”

_Funny?_

“Like, did you really think I was gonna prostitute myself? What’s wrong with you?”

_What’s wrong with you?_

“All I was saying if we are pressed for cash, I can go to a bar, pick a rich old dude, pretend I want to blow him, slip a pill in his drink and clean his wallet.”  
“What pill?”  
“This one.”

True to his word, Yuri opens his hand and there’s a small red pill on his palm. Gobsmacked, Otabek picks it up between his index finger and the thumb and brings it up to his eyes to inspect closer. Then he looks at Yuri with a definite furrow of his dark bushy brows. Yuri’s blond brows, by the way, are delicately formed and plucked.  
“What kind of college was that exactly?”  
Yuri has another bout of uncontrolled laughter but Otabek takes it easily this time. He knows Yuri doesn’t mean it.  
“Thanks for not using it on me,”-blurts out Otabek as he hands the pill back to Yuri.  
“You are not a rich old dude.”  
“Thanks again.”  
“No, really, you are not that old.”  
Otabek knows he’s entire three years older than Yuri but he feels it’s not the information Yuri might find beneficial right now.  
“Breakfast?”- asks Yuri, lacing up his tiger print sneakers. Otabek opens the compartment door, checks out the empty corridor and nods. 

Breakfast in the dining car is served in the buffet style. Otabek notices how Yuri makes some sandwiches and wraps them in a paper napkin, looks around to see if the waiting staff isn’t watching and tucks the food into the kangaroo-pocket of his hoodie. 

“For later,”- Yuri explains, munching his omelet with mushrooms with a healthy appetite of a growing body.-”We are travelling on a budget, remember?” Otabek notices and apple and an orange following the suit of the sandwiches and wonders if Yuri is gonna look somewhat suspiciously pregnant when they go back to their compartment. He puts an arm on Yuri’s wrist when Yuri’s about to tuck a cube of cheese and shakes his head. Money is tight but it’s not like they are going to starve. It’s in their compartment that Otabek to his shame notices missing out on the fact that Yuri actually has very sticky fingers when Yuri proudly displays the catch of the day: wrapped sandwiches, an orange, an apple, four small packeted croissants, four energetic bars of cereals, a large bar of Swiss chocolate and a bottle of mineral water. The latter, Otabek correctly presumes, was just for the dare of it because Europe has drinkable tap water practically everywhere.

They leave their compartment towards the exit as the voice in the speakers announces the terminal station approaching. Otabek wants them to be among the first ones to leave the train. They line up in a short queue of similarly impatient travellers while more prudent ones stay in their seats and exhibit the virtue of patience and it is when Yuri wraps his long fingers around Otabek’s wrist and squeezes. Otabek immediately tenses.  
“What is it, Yuri?”  
Yuri cannot speak, so he nods towards an in-built screen on the wall opposite them that serves as a TV with the sound off. There’s a news programme on and Otabek catches a familiar sight.

Last night Christophe Giacometti private boarding school for elite students in Geneva was torched, a number of students and teachers is still missing. The government of Switzerland condemned it as a terrorist attack. The media is trying to relate this horrible incident to rich Saudi students coming from families in oil but both Otabek and Yuri know better. 

Otabek grabs Yuri’s hand and pulls him after himself as he squeezes past the other people in the line who are gasping at his rude behaviour. Otabek couldn’t care less, he and Yuri are the first to leave the train as soon as Prague Hlavni Nadrazi is announced. But before they disappear into the crowd, Otabek can swear catching a glimpse of a familiar figure on the train– Leo de la Iglesia, a hitman with no scrupulous. 

End Part Two


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The Three Rules?”  
> “One,”- Yuri extends his thumb,- ”whatever you do, don’t get caught. Two,” - Yuri adds his index finger, -”if you do get caught, deny everything. And three,” - Yuri adds his middle finger -”if everything else fails, call Victor and he’ll know what to do. Now, my dear and loyal protector of my virginity that I lost when I was sixteen pray tell me which one of these rules will get me home? Because, honestly, the rule with Victor currently lands us you know where,” - Yuri bends his thumb and his index finger leaving his middle finger in the air for a few seconds to illustrate his point and then picks up his chopsticks to dig into the take out. Otabek suddenly feels the worst bodyguard in the world. For that given moment, maybe he is the worst bodyguard in the world.

“So, what else can you do?”- asks Otabek when they check in their hotel in Prague. The Euro still going strong, they can afford a comfortable, clean, spacious twin room with a big en-suite bathroom not far from the area known as Vysehrad. Yuri is excited and wants to go sightseeing, so he angrily pouts when Otabek adamantly keeps him indoors grounded. Otabek tries to make up for this by striking up a conversation. Yuri raises his eyebrows for more clarification and Otabek taps into years of his professional experience not to look how Yuri’s pink lips attack the bar of Swiss chocolate the blond has pinched from the breakfast buffet. -”Well, I already know you can fire a gun and procure food. I’m wondering what other secret talents you are hiding from me?”  
“What, you think you may need my help?”

You little prick, thinks Otabek Altin. But Yuri is OK with Otabek’s curiosity. 

“Let me see...Hmmm...Well, I can count cards. I can ride a motorbike. Maybe we can steal one? No? OK. I can pick a lock if it’s not too difficult. I can fake faint and occasionally provoke vomit. What else?...”- Yuri thoughtfully bites some more of that chocolate bar and smudges some of it on the side of his lip. Otabek wants to point it to Yuri but then Yuri runs his long slick pink tongue round his lips clearing everything (here Otabek notices that Yuri makes a pointed look at him, Otabek meets it and holds their eyes locked until Yuri looks away first) and Otabek cannot help but feel this is not how an eighteen-year-old should know how to use his tongue. Victor has no idea what gates of Hell he’s about to open. 

OK, but seriously, what kind of college was that? 

“Smoke? Drink? Drugs?”- asks Otabek.  
“You buying?”  
“No, just want to know what I’m working with.”  
“No. Yes. No. Also gay, evidently.”  
“I didn’t ask that.”  
“Consider it a bonus.”

They have new phones now, so they can go online but Victor explicitly said ‘no calls’. Their new phones cannot be tracked but maybe Victor is fearing sabotage from his own side of the sandbox. Their hotel WiFi earns slurs and curses from Yuri who looks like an over-sized angry cat.

“The fuckers have a paid WiFi, can you believe it? Can we torch them when we check-out?”- asks Yuri.  
“Welcome to Eastern Europe,”- says Otabek and just grunts when Yuri flips him. 

They order food (moderatly priced Chinese take out; their affordable hotel fees dipped their travel fund anyways and they had to buy new phones, so they need to stay frugal) and lie down on one of the twin beds armed with chopsticks and paper napkins. There is a table in the room but neither of them seem to consider it an option. When Otabek says he hopes they don’t stain the bed clothes, Yuri just points his chopsticks to the other bed and says ‘mine’, which leaves Otabek with this bed regardless any condition it may be after they finish eating. One responsible adult by the name of Otabek brings some towels from the bathroom and makes a spread under the take-out boxes. 

They have about 80 Euros left altogether and this is where Otabek will have to improvise to keep them going. He hates it but Yuri’s idea of drugging someone for their money suddenly seems to be a feasible option. Otabek asks Yuri to go over the details to evaluate the risk. 

“OK, basically, I can dress up a bit slutty…”  
“We don’t have a budget for that.”  
“I’ve come prepared.”  
“You what? Never mind, continue.”  
“So, like I was saying, I can dress up a bit slutty and hit a trendy bar in the old town area. That’s where all the tourists go when they want to spend their hard earned money. I pick up an older man who looks the right type to be carrying some serious cash and looking for an Eastern European adventure. He will have cash if that’s what you are worried about because no hooker will take a card. We make a deal, we agree to go somewhere more private, he buys me a drink, I slip him a pill, we go somewhere more private and possibly make out a little until he drops, then I clean his wallet and come back safe and sound to my trusted loyal bodyguard who looks so formidable when he’s unhappy, just like now but also incredibly hot.”

Unhappy is nowhere near the correct adjective how Otabek feels, but he lets it go this time and he tries not to focus on the ‘hot’ part.

“What if you cannot slip him the pill?”  
“How much money do we need to get going?”  
“About 400 Euros for starters.”  
“Then I’ll just blow him for 50 Euros and move onto another guy. No, seriously, Otabek,”- says Yuri before Otabek can object, -”I’ll just blow him and you don’t interfere because that will get us into trouble. I’ve got this, OK?”

 _I’ve got this, OK?_ Otabek painfully moans because he’s the one supposed to be able to say this.

“You are the future Pakhan of the Bratva, Yuri! You cannot give blowjobs to random strangers for money!”  
“Yeah, I should probably be charging more for my unique status,”- says Yuri and makes finger quotes for ‘unique status’.  
“Imagine Victor finds out!”  
“So what if he does? Oh, wait,”- Yuri frowns, -”you are worried about your own head now, right?”  
“Right now I’m worried about _your_ head, Yuri. I’m responsible for your safety.”  
“Yet, you brought it up as an opportunity to consider.”  
Otabek wants to buy his tongue off. Yuri watches him silently, then lays the chopsticks across his take out (a drop of sauce falls onto the towel) and puts his hand on Otabek’s wrist in a supportive and affirmative manner. 

“Otabek, I’ve spent three years of my life cooped up and forgotten..”

_Forgotten?_

“...in a most rigid boarding school where I could do whatever I wanted if don’t violate the Three Rules.”  
“The Three Rules?”  
“One,”- Yuri extends his thumb,- ”whatever you do, don’t get caught. Two,” - Yuri adds his index finger, -”if you do get caught, deny everything. And three,” - Yuri adds his middle finger -”if everything else fails, call Victor and he’ll know what to do. Now, my dear and loyal protector of my virginity that I lost when I was sixteen pray tell me which one of these rules will get me home? Because, honestly, the rule with Victor currently lands us you know where,” - Yuri bends his thumb and his index finger leaving his middle finger in the air for a few seconds to illustrate his point and then picks up his chopsticks to dig into the take out. Otabek suddenly feels the worst bodyguard in the world. For that given moment, maybe he is the worst bodyguard in the world.

It’s madness. But there’s method in it.

They wait until it gets dark. When Yuri said he will dress a bit slutty, Otabek had no idea what that may be like but now he thinks Yuri will not make ten steps away from the hotel safely wearing what he’d dug from his backpack. Yuri is wearing tight black leather leggings, an open-back top with an X from sparkly crystals on top, a pink blazer with blue lapels and a pair of sunglasses. He is wearing his tiger print sneakers and his hair is pulled back into a bun. Yuri has also applied some dark make-up around his eyes and pink gloss on his lips. Otabek gulps heavily and Yuri laughs happily at the effect of his outfit on Otabek.  
“Let’s go!”- shouts Yuri as he puts on a pair of fingerless gloves, -”let’s scam some old rich farts!”  
How can Otabek refuse?

A rich fart Yuri chooses to scam with aided help of Otabek (who should now better but doesn’t) in a dimmed dodgy gay bar is already into his third or fourth drink and cannot take away his eyes of Yuri. And he cannot take away his hands of Yuri, too, and Otabek, who is watching the scene from a safe distance, feels a burning desire to grab the man’s hands and slowly break all his fingers one by one and then repeat it. He has been making polite excuses for the passes he gets (he does say ‘I’ve got gonorrhea’ once when someone doesn’t take no for an answer) the entire evening as he sips his beer and watches the scene and Yuri plays a chatty sexy kitten and that seems to be working as the man leans into Yuri’s neck and whispers something into his ear. Yuri catches Otabek’s look and nods. It’s a sign both to his client and Otabek. Otabek, because he’s been waiting for this moment, sees how Yuri hovers his fingers shortly over the man’s drink while the man is nursing Yuri’s neck but instead of drinking his drugged drink the man grabs Yuri by the wrist and drags him into the depth of the bar. Otabek charges after them as slowly as he can without attracting extra attention than he already got by being a distant aloof athletic mysterious man in a gay bar. 

The man manages to drag Yuri into probably the only CC-not covered area of the bar which is the staff toilet and they are locked up. That is not according to the plan. Otabek turns the door handle but to no avail. He hears Yuri’s voice inside telling the man to stop and then there’s something similar to ‘condom’ and his heart leaps into his throat. What is Yuri gets seriously injured or killed? Then, the fighting subdues and a suspicious silence ensues and Otabek can only guess that Yuri has agreed to whatever the man is asking for his own safety. Yuri did tell him not to interfere but the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Otabek notices a cleaning trolley in the corner and a set of key with tags casually dropped among cleaning products by a clueless employee whom Otabek now wholeheartedly thanks because one tag says ‘Staff WC’ on it. He grabs the key, puts it into the lock, turns it and the lock gives in. Otabek is in like three seconds later and there’s that man from the bar standing back to him and Yuri is pressed against the wall with the man trying to rail him from behind. Otabek wraps his arm around the man’s neck and holds him tightly until he feels the body in his bear grip go limp. He pulls the man away from Yuri who looks totally freaked out and lays the unconscious Yuri’s client on the floor.  
“Yuri, are you OK?”- quickly asks Otabek not taking his eyes of Yuri and blindly patting the man in search for his wallet.  
“Yeah...He just caught me unprepared...”- Yuri whimpers back. - “Is he dead?”  
“No. But he will be when I’m done with him.”  
“No, Otabek, please!”- Yuri grabs Otabek’s hands and holds them in his and his eyes are begging, -”don’t kill him!”  
“He tried to rape you!”  
“Otabek, please don’t make it more difficult than it is. We can’t afford to have a murder charge hanging on us right now! Has he got any money?”  
Otabek pulls the man’s wallet and rips it open. He cannot bear the thought of the man being poor and Yuri having to go through a similar ordeal again. He pulls a wad of banknotes and starts counting. One hundred, two, three...750 Euros. Otabek quickly pockets the money in the front pocket of his jeans, removes his jacket and puts it on Yuri, zips it up and takes Yuri’s hand.  
“I lead. You follow,”- says Otabek and Yuri just slightly nods, his eyes fixed on the man on the floor. They leave the toilet, Otabek locks the door and breaks the key in the lock so that no-one can enter and they quickly walk out the bar holding hands. Someone whistles at them and calls out in a language neither of them understands but if they had time to stop and get help with translation, Otabek would be congratulated on his presumed catch. 

Outside it’s dark, the streetlamps give a gloomy light and it looks like it’s just stopped raining. Otabek has studied the map of the area and now he navigates the narrow streets of Old Prague until they find themselves in a big square with many restaurant and hotel terraces outside. There are many people enjoying their evening but Otabek and Yuri aren’t one of them but they stop to catch their breath. Yuri’s hand in his feels so warm and so small.  
“Yuri?”  
“I’m OK.”  
“I don’t think we can tell Victor about that.”  
“Otabek Altin, when you are right, you are right. Victor can never know about this. I’ll be grounded until I can claim my first retirement benefit.” And Otabek Altin would be dead. They both know but they don’t say it aloud.

Yuri hits the bathroom as soon as they get back to the hotel. Otabek sits down on the bed to recount the money (if he stepped outside of his self and took a side look, he would say he looks like a pimp) and he just hopes the banknotes are real. He surely doesn’t want to end up arrested for trying to pay by a counterfeit note because that’s how it goes these days, men pay fake notes for fake love. The doors of the bathroom open, Yuri leans against the door frame with a toothbrush in his mouth and removes the hair clip, his hair falls loosely on his shoulders.  
“Otabek, did we just really beat and rob someone?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Cool.”

They can set up e-payments on their phones but that requires personal identity verification and monetary operations will leave a trace for anyone who knows where to look, so they agree to stay on cash. They have no idea if any of the 750 Euros banknotes are real and the plan is to find a stationery store that sells those special pens for identifying counterfeit banknotes but then Yuri has a ballsy idea. Their hotel reception has a special machine that can tell if a note is real or not, so Yuri just marches to the receptionist, puts 750 Euros on the desk, then sets 20 Euros as a tip and asks for the notes to be run through the machine. In case the banknotes turn out to be fake or he is suspected of a financial machination, Yuri can claim diplomatic immunity with his passport. He might probably get arrested until things are sorted out but Otabek is there watching like a hawk, ready to...well...improvise, actually. 

The cash is real. 

The morning breaks with the familiar routine for Otabek when he has to force Yuri out of the bed and into the shower. Otabek seems to have picked up the skill of getting a snoozing Yuri out of the bed and making it into the shower in record time to avoid incurring Yuri’s anger and teeth but once Yuri’s face is brushed with cold water the change is imminent and Otabek steps away from the bathroom leaving his snarling charge to release his wrath onto the shower cabin. No, Yuri Plisetsky is definitely not a morning person. Yuri Plisetsky can sleep through the Armageddon. 

They check out from their hotel and Otabek interferes just in time to stop Yuri from setting the hotel’s garbage bin on fire in revenge for the paid WiFi service. Who would have thought that such an angelic face hid such a diabolic character? They intend to get some inexpensive groceries and take the next train towards Russia but sometime in the middle of their passage through Prague Otabek starts to feel certain uneasiness and his gut feeling starts to grow in intensity and by the time they make it to the railway station he can put a finger on it- they are definitely being followed.

They take the next available train but not to the direction of Russia. They hop on the airport express.  
“Where are we going?”- asks Yuri.  
“Kazakhstan. Then they are in my territory.”

There’s no direct flight to Kazakhstan from Prague, so they board a connecting flight via Istanbul. That’s 796 Euros in total. The moment Yuri and Otabek board their outbound Turkish Airlines flight, they have exactly 15 Euros cash to share between them. 

God bless Turkish Airlines and their customer service policy, thinks Otabek Altin as he opens the door of their comped overnight hotel room in Istanbul. Then he stops in his tracks. 

Only one bed. Not good.

End Part Three


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What is it, Yuri?”  
> “I noticed how you stare at me and I’m afraid you want to club me for my sneakers.”  
> Otabek laughs.   
> “No, I don’t need your sneakers.”  
> “So why are you staring?”  
> Otabek lifts himself on one hand and turns to the darkness somewhere he expects to find Yuri. He can’t see Yuri in the dark but he can feel his body heat close. Skinny people always radiate heat, not enough fat to contain it.

While Otabek stands like a rooted fitting of the room by some original design, Yuri walks up to the double bed and inspects it.   
“Do you want the left side or the right side?”- asks Yuri.  
“You don’t mind…?”  
“Just don’t snore or else you’ll be sleeping in the bathroom.”  
Yuri drops his backpack on the bed and hits the bathroom. Case closed. Otabek takes the left side. Closer to the doors, he tries to convince himself. 

They have a 21-hour layover in Istanbul and by courtesy of Turkish Airlines such layovers are honored by comped hotel stays. There’s no dinner, though, so they inspect their collective haul of energy bars and snacks from their rainy day fund and those skimpy groceries they managed to buy in Prague. All in all, not that bad, and with tomorrow’s breakfast they should be able to pull it through. The flight from Istanbul to Almaty is only five hours long and Otabek has a solid plan of action. Kazakhstan is his territory and even after his prison time (about which Yuri doesn’t know and Otabek feels now isn’t a very good time to tell) he knows he has people he can rely on. They have a small picnic on their bed and watch TV, trying to catch up on international news. So far there’s no update on the Geneva incident online, the online media says the investigation is still pending. One thing is certain-the fire was started by a bomb with a timer in what now seems to be the distant memory of the dormitory wing.

Otabek asks Yuri for his diplomatic passport, he wants to try to see how it’s different from a regular passport.  
“Yuri Epafroditovich Plisetsky?”- Otabek has to wrap his lips round his teeth to suppress a giggle. Yuri gives him a long and cold stare.  
“Tell anyone and I’ll knife you in your sleep,”- promises Yuri.   
“Don’t worry. Your secret will die with me.”  
“Mhm,”- Yuri gets up, brushes the crumbles from his clothes on the floor and collects his sleepwear to go to the shower. They both need a round of laundry but due to time constraints they will have to wait.  
That has not prevented Yuri from ransacking Otabek’s backpack and claiming one of his over-sized T-shirts as his own sleepwear. Their own travel-size toiletries are about to run out but luckily the hotel has some free toiletries they can make use of. There’s just one big blanket for their double bed but Yuri doesn’t seem to be fazed by this fact when he comes out of the shower and climbs into the bed and Otabek manages to catch a glimpse of a tattoo on Yuri’s inner thigh but he cannot make out what it is. Otabek has also got several tattoos but he prefers not to remember how he got them. 

“What’s in Almaty?”- asks Yuri when Otabek finishes his evening routine and takes the other side of the bed.   
“That’s my territory. I know stuff.”  
“That’s kinda the same every time but nothing ever goes according to the plan,”- says Yuri and an uncomfortable pause falls. Otabek knows he cannot take it personally but it hurts anyway. Yuri finally realizes what he’s just said. -”Oh, my. That’s kinda insensitive coming from me. You got me safe so far.”  
“That’s all right.”  
“Do you think Chris is OK?”  
“I don’t know. I hope so.”  
“There were other students missing. They can be my friends. Phichit, Guang-Hong, Emil...”- Yuri makes a pause and bites his lower lip – “JJ…”  
“Your boyfriend? Sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”  
“No, it’s OK. He’s sort of my boyfriend.”  
“Sort of?”  
“I wanted to break up. He said we should take a short break. I called it quits. He called it on hold.”   
“Do you think he might be looking for you?”   
“I just hope he’s OK.”  
“Does Victor know you are dating?”  
Yuri laughs.  
“I had my first kiss with five bodyguards watching it for...scientific research, I guess. I think Victor got a very detailed report so, yeah, you can rest assured he knows I’m dating.”  
“Does he approve of JJ? Isn’t it a conflict of interests?“  
Yuri just shrugs his shoulders.  
“JJ’s cool. He can be an obnoxious prick most times but he understands me. I don’t have to pretend when I’m with him. We are both to take over our respective families, so he knows what I am and I know what he is. Being with JJ is very simple and comfortable. Probably that’s why I wanted to end it. I just feel I need more from life and JJ is happy with what he’s got. What about you?”  
“Well, I’m certainly not dating JJ.”  
“Smart ass,”- Yuri playfully smacks Otabek’s shoulder and Otabek’s brown eyes flame. -”So, who are you dating? Or maybe you are married with seven children?”  
“I’m not married, I’m not dating anyone right now and I definitely don’t have seven children. It’s difficult to keep a steady relationship in this line of business.” And two years in prison isn’t exactly attractive to potential dating partners but that’s something Otabek keeps to himself. Instead, he switches the bed lights off and the room falls into darkness. But neither of them are sleeping.

“What is it, Yuri?”  
“I noticed how you stare at me and I’m afraid you want to club me for my sneakers.”  
Otabek laughs.   
“No, I don’t need your sneakers.”  
“So why are you staring?”  
Otabek lifts himself on one hand and turns to the darkness somewhere he expects to find Yuri. He can’t see Yuri in the dark but he can feel his body heat close. Skinny people always radiate heat, not enough fat to contain it.   
“I’m your bodyguard. I’m here to protect you at the cost of my life if I have to. I’m not your parent. I’m not your nanny. I’m not even your Victor. But for all I know, an eighteen-year-old isn’t supposed to know to shoot from a revolver, count cards, pick locks and drug old perverts. Even more, an eighteen-year-old isn’t supposed to walk naked in the presence of a stranger. You have an entire life ahead of you and you choose to walk on the edge.” Otabek slipped off his edge and it cost him two years of his life. He speaks from his heart. He knows shit. Yuri holds a pause and sighs.  
“OK, so you are not going to club me for my sneakers. But I still have that pill, so that you know.”  
“Goodnight, Yuri, sleep well,”- says Otabek and he tucks the blanket around Yuri as well as he can without seeing anything and relying on his sense of touch only. When he is about to remove his hand from Yuri, his thumb accidentally brushes against something wet. A tear. 

The rest of the night isn’t much better but Otabek manages to catch some sleep in the early hours of the day and then there’s the battle of wills getting Yuri into the shower to wake up. However, this morning there seems to be much less resistance from Yuri’s side. Otabek leaves the bathroom as soon as he is sure that Yuri can stand straight on his own two feet and hold a toothbrush right side up. Then Otabek instructs Yuri to stay in the room and goes to fetch them some breakfast. There’s a breakfast buffet laid out in the restaurant but Otabek asks a member of the staff if he can take some food to a room to a friend who is ill. The waiter is overwhelmed by the entire delayed flight of Turkish Airlines to Mexico having decided to come for breakfast at the same time so he couldn’t care less. Otabek would like to leave him a tip but their meager budget cannot afford such luxury. 

“Otabek,”- says Yuri when Otabek sets a plate of food I front of him, -”maybe next time you can bring something that we can not only eat up but also actually pack for later? We are dirt poor, remember?”  
Otabek guiltily stares at the large helping of omelet with mushrooms and vegetables flanked with toast that will have to keep Yuri full until they land in Almaty. Yuri is lying on his stomach on their bed and inspecting the plate Otabek has just brought up with the expression of an appalled mermaid who has just been cast ashore.   
“Sorry.”  
“That’s why I’m the brains and you’re the muscles behind this operation,”- says Yuri as he digs into the plate. - “What would you do without me?”  
Otabek winces. This seemingly innocent questions sweeps the carpet from under his feet. Otabek goes to the bathroom, closes the doors, turns the water in the sink on and stares at himself in the mirror. Is he falling for Yuri Plisetsky?   
“Otabek!”  
Otabek is out in like three seconds. Yuri is sitting up on the heels of his bent legs and he has this strange face expression as he looks at the door.   
“There’s someone at the door,”- Yuri whispers to Otabek. Otabek grabs Yuri and pulls him out of the bed, pushes into the bathroom, then Otabek holds his index finger against his lips instructing Yuri to keep quiet and shuts the bathroom door close. The lock clicks inside the bathroom. 

There’s definitely a knock on the door. Otabek isn’t waiting for anyone and he’s got no weapon. He knows he has to defend Yuri but the practicalities are against him as he quickly scans the room for his options. There’s another knock on the door and a familiar voice calls his name.  
“Otabek Altin, open up. I know you are there. It’s me, Leo.”

The last time Otabek saw Leo was on their train from Geneva to Prague. The one before last time Otabek Altin saw Leo de la Iglesia was two years ago on the job. Otabek was holding someone and Leo was slitting that someone’s throat open. What does Leo want from them?  
“Man, open up! You make me look like a jealous husband. People are watching!”

Is this a clever decoy for Leo to get into the room? But also, he seems to be attracting too much attention in the corridor for someone who has a job to be done and that doesn't help their low profile either. Otabek weighs his chances of overpowering Leo and, actually, they are pretty good. Leo may be a skilled knife man but Otabek can overbear Leo with sheer muscle power. He opens the room door and just hopes he isn’t making the greatest mistake of his life.

“Leo? What do you want?”  
“Jesus, Otabek! Is this how you greet someone who you haven’t seen for two years?”  
“Been busy.”  
“So I heard.”  
“What are you doing here?”  
“Turkish Airlines delayed their Mexico flight. I’m visiting my family. So, are you going to invite me in or your girlfriend told you to cut this shit of old friends and stay on the straight and narrow?”

_Girlfriend?_

Otabek must look confused because Leo starts laughing. He invites himself into the room and Otabek reluctantly closes the door. But maybe it’s for the best if he has to shed some blood. Leo stands in the middle of the room, hands in front pockets of his jeans, sporting a friendly smile on his face.

“Here I am on a train from Geneva having done my banking business for my last job with the people who accept deposits and ask no questions and I see my long lost friend who seems to be kidnapping a starving blond teenage girl who is seriously underage. Not my taste but who am I to judge? Then I drag my ass over to Istanbul to get some supplies for my family,”- Leo removes his hands from his pockets and does finger quotes for ‘supplies’ and Otabek just prefers not to think about it this time, -”and I see you in the breakfast room on the hotel Turkish Airlines have tucked us for the night. But by the time I’m past the hungry crowd you are nowhere to be found. But I’m Leo de la Iglesia, I’m like dandruff, you cannot get rid of me that easily…” Leo’s chatty string of words is abruptly cut when he sees a pair of boy briefs that are a) too small b) too animal print c) too silky to be Otabek’s sticking out from a bagpack by the double bed and his lips curl into an O shape. -”It’s not a girl, right? That’s why you are trying to avoid me like plague? Like, are you afraid that I’ll be judging you or something? Man, we killed together!”

Otabek just wishes Leo would finally shut up because Yuri can hear them from the bathroom and must be probably going mad by now. Otabek hisses angrily at Leo to shut up or else he will have no choice but to demonstrate that famous Altin hook from the left.  
“Leo, it’s a virgin client.” That’s a code for a client who is not immersed in the past of the staff they are hiring, typical for one shot jobs. Leo clamps a fist against his mouth. But the damage is done and all Otabek can hope is to minimize the aftershock effect.   
“Let me get this straight. We aren’t your job?”- Otabek places himself strategically in front of Leo and the bathroom. Leo tilts his head to the side. He quickly picks up that there’s someone in the bathroom and Otabek Altin is the block post.   
“If you were my job, would I tell you?”- he asks.   
“No,”- agrees Otabek.   
“So let’s pretend you didn’t ask.”  
“Do I have to fight you?”  
“Not today.”

Prison is a closed ecosystem and one’s gut learns to pick up on whispers, steps, the movement of eyelashes. You wait for the other man to breathe out and then you hit him in the right place so they choke on the content of their last meal. Otabek’s gut is taking the back seat now with Leo in the room.   
“Leo?”  
“Yes?”  
“I know this may sound strange but can you lend me some cash?”  
Leo crashes into laughter.  
“That’s my Otabek Altin! I thought they chucked you out of your old self and replaced with a government funded scientific experiment.”  
“Pretty much that’s what happened. So is that a yes?”  
“Always borrow money from pessimists, they never expect it back. How much do you need?”  
“As much as you can afford to lend. You know I’ll pay you back.”  
“Altin, you carried my unconscious sassy ass over your shoulder from a burning building on our first job together. I would get a second job if I had to earn more money to pay you back. Say,”- Leo pulls a wad of cash from a secret pocket inside his jacket, -”Two grand in Euros will do?”  
“You carry this much cash on you? Are you waiting to be robbed?”  
“That’s not an issue now any more, it’s your headache.”  
“I’ll let you know where to send your account details. I can’t trust the means of communication I have on me right now.”  
“Can I help you with anything?”  
“You just did.”  
“You sure?”  
“Well, there’s one more thing.”  
“Anything.”  
“Get lost.”   
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?”  
Otabek walks towards the room door, opens it wide and silently mouths ‘out’ to Leo. Leo shakes his head in disapproval but he isn’t angry. He pats Otabek on the shoulder as he leaves and Otabek can only wonder if the supplies Leo got for his family are still intact. 

Otabek knocks on the bathroom door.   
“Yuri, it’s OK, you can come out.”  
There’s a sound of the lock undone and the door cracks a little.   
“Is that weirdo gone?”  
“His name’s Leo. We are, kinda, old friends.”  
“So I heard.”  
“Yura, I’m a bodyguard. I do things to people for a living and sometimes things take the wrong turn on me. Please don’t judge me on that.”  
“How did you call me?”

_Yura._

End Part Four


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor Nikiforov is standing in the middle of their room and he is one very unhappy person.  
> “Congratulations, Otabek Altin,”- says Pakhan, disregarding a loaded firearm directed at him with a calm steadiness of the iceberg that hit the Titanic, -”Honestly, Otabek, I’m impressed, I didn’t think you were meant to come out of this alive.”

It’s a Boeing but since they are not flying Business class it means they are in the row of three seats. Otabek has them booked for Yuri to take the window seat and for him to be in the middle seat and he just hopes their aisle neighbour doesn’t show up but no luck Fido, the plane is full. There’s a serious-faced Kazakh businessman who tries to strike up a conversation with Otabek but soon gets the memo that Otabek is more interested in watching the paint dry so the man just buries himself in a newspaper. Yuri plays with his phone until the battery is dangerously low and then dozes off (Otabek can swear he hears Yuri purring). The flight attendant notices Yuri’s situation and brings him a pillow and a blanket (that’s Turkish Airlines for you), so Yuri ends up pressed against the window and Otabek but sometime later in his sleep he migrates to Otabek completely but it’s not that Otabek minds. Five hours later their plane touches down in Almaty International. 

Luckily, Yuri wakes up differently from his morning routine and they disembark the plane like normal people. They want to get to Russia as soon as possible but at the same time only fools rush in, so Otabek wants to research their options for safe passage. Usually, there would be a contact person upon crossing the border who would direct them to a safe-house, provide funds or take over the charge but Victor’s instructions were curt, there was no known follow-up contact and Otabek isn’t sure where exactly he has to bring Yuri in St. Petersburg. Given the way things are going, Victor’s mansion may no longer be standing by the time they get there. And he also cannot wrap his mind around the tail they had in Prague now when he knows it wasn’t Leo. They definitely need a gun but Yuri’s diplomatic passport does not grant him the right to carry weapons, he still needs to apply for permits in any country they enter. Otabek will be getting knives now when they are going to be driving and if they get confiscated by the border security at the border of Kazakhstan and Russia, he will just get a new set when they cross the border.

Otabek debates with himself but then picks up a phone and enters a memorized number he never thought he would dial and the person on the other end of the line picks up on the second ring.  
“Otabek Altin. I need a favour.”  
The other person hangs up but Otabek knows they will find him. 

They ruin Yuri’s dream because they don’t steal a car. They buy one. It’s not the flashiest car in the dealership but it’s a good car and if a two-and-a-half days road trip from Almaty to St. Petersburg is not your idea of fun, nothing is. Otabek is loaded with cash thanks to Leo, so they buy a change of clothes and some extra stuff they need and stock upon food supplies so that they don’t need to go out to eat. But Otabek refuses to venture in the dark any further and he wants to let Victor know Yuri is alive at least since the news of Geneva school attack went international. 

A text message beeps with a time and a place and Otabek sneaks away at night leaving Yuri sleeping. He notices some men on the street but he knows they are here to watch over Yuri while he’s out. Like Otabek said, Kazakhstan is his territory. He spent two years in prison in Russia but he’s still got friends or people who owe him, sometimes both of these qualities meet in the same person. Just like the one who had picked up his call. 

Otabek doesn’t let Yuri drive. There may be a chase or they may need to lose a tail, so Otabek wants to stay in full control. That means they must take a break from driving for the night and Otabek can rest. They have money to burn so they go online to look up for a place to stay a couple of hours before they break for the night. Yuri takes the task of researching their accommodation options and Otabek discovers a new streak in Yuri. Yuri books them in an expensive hotel with a lavish bathroom. Yuri keeps saying posh places have better security and then spends the better part of the night soaking in a bubble bath because Otabek won’t let Yuri out of the room. They also have their meals delivered from outlets outside the hotel and avoid eating hotel food just in case someone slips them something. Yuri accuses Otabek of being paranoid and suggests him the red pill. 

There’s a tail until the Kazakhstan-Russia border but this time Otabek knows who’s following them and why. Otabek has also got a firearm and a set of knives and they manage to pass through the border control without a hassle due to a phone call to someone in authority prior to their departure. Otabek isn’t proud of that but he isn’t being paid for his pride. 

They stop for the night at a motel not far away from the border. Otabek needs to rest, the week’s stress starts to take its toll on him. They are waiting for their contact person to find them and give further details on Yuri’s safe return home. Their first fight is over the reason if Yuri should also get a gun. Otabek objects to that. He knows Yuri is much less likely to get hurt if he’s not considered a threat. Yuri disagrees. Otabek insists, Yuri kicks the wall in fury. Then, Yuri gets drunk.

Apparently, at some point of their grocery shopping or bathroom breaks in petrol stations Yuri manages to wrap his sticky fingers around a bottle of vodka. It’s a fact Otabek discovers when Yuri goes to the bathroom and forgets to return for a worrisome amount of time. That’s when Otabek discovers wasted Yuri and loses control of himself. He knows it’s totally unprofessional but Otabek can hardly contain his rage at this point. How can he be possibly expected to protect Yuri if Yuri purposefully lands himself in dangerous situations? Otabek pushes Yuri into the shower and starts cold water. He probably shouldn’t have. He probably should have know better. 

Yuri’s white T-shirt immediately turns transparent and clings to Yuri’s body exposing two round nipples standing in alert to cold water. Yuri’s not wearing pants, just a pair of skimpy underwear briefs, which are now soaked and clinging to Yuri’s private parts leaving nothing for imagination. Yuri presses his back against the shower wall and lets the cold water pour onto him head to toe and then he emerges from this waterfall like The Elf Prince. His blue-green eyes are burning. Otabek grabs a big towel and tries to wrap it around Yuri but instead Yuri clings to Otabek like an octopus.   
“Do you want to see my tattoo?”- purrs Yuri as he sinks his teeth into Otabek’s ear. That’s unexpected and Otabek gasps. That just makes Yuri double his efforts of wrapping himself around Otabek.   
“Yuri, you are drunk.”  
“I want to fuck.”  
“Yuri…”  
“You called me Yura. You cannot call me Yura and not to fuck me.”  
“I’m your bodyguard. I’m not your boyfriend.”  
“Then be my boyfriend.”  
“No.”  
“You stupid ass!”

Otabek wraps his arm around Yuri’s neck and locks him in the crook of his neck. It’s not deadly but incapacitating. Their lips brush but that’s all because Otabek succeeds in passing the message. They just stand there in an embrace for a few minutes until Yuri starts to shiver from his cold wet clothes. Otabek releases his grip of death and keeps the towel secured around Yuri to allow him to ditch his ruined clothes in modesty and then wraps the towel around Yuri’s waist. Yuri finally seems to have come to his senses.

“Mornings straight into the shower, no cold water on my face,”- says Yuri as he picks up his toothbrush and squeezes some toothpaste on it. -”That’s how JJ does it, anyway.” The last part, Otabek feels, was really unnecessary. Like, snake venom unnecessary.   
“You could have told me this earlier.”  
“I could have told you many things earlier.”

There’s a definite movement in the room. It must be their contact person. Otabek pulls his gun, puts his finger against his lips to tell Yuri to stay quiet as he pushes Yuri into the corner behind the doors and then Otabek charges into the room. 

Victor Nikiforov is standing in the middle of their room and he is one very unhappy person.  
“Congratulations, Otabek Altin,”- says Pakhan, disregarding a loaded firearm directed at him with a calm steadiness of the iceberg that hit the Titanic, -”Honestly, Otabek, I’m impressed, I didn’t think you were meant to come out of this alive.”

End Part Five


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Otabek remembers the name plate “Plisetsky” on the door and now he knows it was not an ID of a potential target, it was in fact a label for the kind of the monster contained inside that room.

“Why?”- asks Victor looking past Otabek at Yuri. Otabek keeps his gun lowered at the floor and positions himself between the two relatives- no matter what, he’s here to protect Yuri. Yuri is still wearing his towel wrap and keeps toying with the toothbrush in his mouth.

Then, Yuri spits the toothbrush and it makes a flight across the room, landing with a sharp thud as it hits the wall. There’s a noticeable change in Yuri. Gone is the Elf Prince and back is the Dark Ever-evolving Monster. Gone is the shimmer of the blue-green eyes, replaced by the unquivering colour of steel. Gone is the pout of those kissable pink lips, replaced by the sharp drop in cheeks to form a down-turned triangle. Gone is the angry cat, replaced by the silently preying tiger. 

Yuri, who torched Christophe Giacometti private boarding school for elite students.  
Yuri, who sabotaged his own return to Russia.   
Yuri, the future Pakhan of the Russian Bratva. 

“Because I could.”

Phichit Chulanont.  
Guang-Hing Ji.  
Emil Nekola.  
Drugged and strangled with bare hands, found lying one next to another in the corner of the basement that miraculously escaped the fire, unwittingly lured there one by one following someone they considered to be a friend. 

“You locked me up. You made me invisible.”

Christophe Giacometti.  
Heroically died in the fire trying to evacuate the dormitory wing. 

Seven people are still missing to date.

Otabek remembers the name plate “Plisetsky” on the door and now he knows it was not an ID of a potential target, it was in fact a label for the kind of the monster contained inside that room.

_Forgotten,_ was what Yuri said. 

“When Chris told me I will be going home, it was the happiest day of my whole fucking life. But it was Katsuki who called me about it. Also, it was always Katsuki to congratulate me on my birthday, Christmas, New Year...Was any of the presents you sent me picked by you, uncle?”

The rest of the drive to St. Petersburg is, compared to the whole story, uneventful. They ride in Victor’s car which is a large and comfortable SUV Lexus. Victor takes the middle set of the seats, Yuri and Otabek share the back row of the seats while Victor’s bodyguard takes the front passenger seat next to the driver who also doubles as a bodyguard. They only stop for fuel and bathroom breaks in petrol stations where they also stock up on some beverages and snacks, an occasional fruit cocktail or a hot meal if there’s a cafe next door. They get some nap in the car, Victor here drawing the longer straw as he’s got a row of seats of his own but Yuri and Otabek try to catch some sleep and not bump into each other. 

When they finally get to Victor’s mansion in the outskirts of St. Petersburg, which is still thankfully standing, the three of them are sore. Otabek follows Victor to the office where he was first received while Katsuki escorts Yuri away. Victor hands Otabek a convert with his payment and a generous bonus on top of it.  
“I suppose I owe you an explanation, Mr. Altin. I don’t normally explain myself before hired help…”

_Hired help?_

“...but I did throw your boat up the shit creek without a paddle, so it’s only fair. I’ve uncovered some serious loyalty issues within my organization. Apparently, it was a coup. But that’s all sorted now.”  
“Yuri?”  
“The little sod, yes.”  
“What are you gonna do about it?”  
“Nothing.”  
“Nothing?”  
“Otabek, don’t let your friendship cloud your judgment. He’s my heir.”  
“He’s dangerous.”  
“Not your responsibility. I didn’t know how to cope with my own grief.”  
“He killed at least four people. Three with his bare hands.”  
“Otabek, if I start to count how many people I killed your hair would turn gray. And you did your time in prison not exactly for disturbing the Sunday Mass with a fart.”  
“Who was tailing us in Prague?”  
“JJ’s people.”  
“He and JJ planned it all along? Yuri said they had broken up.”  
“As lovers, not as partners in crime. I’ve created a monster. I just hope I can contain him reasonably until his time comes. That’s all.”

Otabek puts the money convert into the inside pocket of his jacket and goes to retrieve the stuff he has left during his first visit. Everything’s in order, nothing’s missing. He needs to contact Leo to pay him back. 

“Mr. Altin?”- Katsuki steps towards him as Otabek makes barely three steps out of the room. -”May I have a word with you?” Katsuki motions for Otabek to follow him and leads to a part of the mansion that seems to be more private. Then he knocks on the double doors, opens them and motions for Otabek to enter, closes the doors after him and hovers by them like a sentinel. 

Yuri Plisetsky. 

For all Otabek knows, Yuri is the most beautiful young man in the world. Otabek knows he’s fallen for Yuri in Geneva and he’s fallen in love with Yuri the night he was dragging him from that bar in Prague, Yuri’s warm trembling hand in his. Yuri probably knows it because he is wearing his outfit from that night, complete with make-up. There’s a new addition to his look in the form of a heavy cross necklace. Yuri comes up to Otabek and wraps his arms around Otabek’s waist. Otabek can feel Yuri’s heat against himself. Otabek doesn’t hug Yuri back. 

“Stay,”- says Yuri.  
“I can’t.”  
“You can’t or you don’t want?”  
Otabek prefers not to answer.   
“I can pay you.”

_Hired help._

“You say you wanted to come back to Russia and then you sabotage it. Was it to revenge Victor?”  
“He doesn’t deserve me and I don’t revenge. I punish.”

Some future Pakhan.

“Why did you do that, Yuri? You said they were your friends.”   
“I just put them out of misery. They were my family, that’s what Chris always said. I just couldn’t leave them and return to Russia.”  
“I would hardly call a privileged college in Switzerland misery.”  
“You think you know all? You think you are always right? That school was an overpriced panopticum of freaks, a pitiful collection of faulty models of disappointing heirs. Phichit Chulanont was molested by the closest members of his family, Guang-Hing Ji was a heroine addict disinherited by his family and Emil Nekola tried to commit suicide three times because he was in love with someone close in his family. How privileged does that sound to you?”  
“Christope Giacometti…”  
“He knew everything. He signed those monthly reports to the bastards who paid him king’s ransom to keep us out of their hair so they can showcase their perfect public life where they don’t even shit. Got what he deserved, if you ask me.”  
“Seven people are missing.”  
“They are on their way to somewhere warm, sunny and extradite-free with pockets full of cash. At least some of us got a happy ending. And they’ll owe me one when my day comes.”  
“You have considered everything. Why do you need me?”  
Yuri takes a step away from Otabek, runs his palm against Otabek’s broad chest as if wiping time dust from an ancient statue and looks Otabek in the eye.   
“Victor Nikiforov is the sunset, I’m the sunrise. I want you to come and work for me one day,”- Otabek wants to say something but Yuri puts his finger against Otabek’s lips,- “you don’t have to answer me now. Just keep going until I need you.”

Basically, don’t get killed, that’s what Yuri’s asking him. Their lips brush but there’s no kiss. Otabek wants to ask about JJ but, really, what’s the point?

“Otabek?”- Otabek pauses by the door, his hand on the door handle. -“I’ll be watching you.”  
“Goodbye, Yura.” 

The End


End file.
